Death Walks on High Heels (1971)

The Age of Commercialism

Redundant and unnecessary.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A man is stabbed on a train, leading the police to question Nicole (giallo queen Nieves Navarro) about diamonds that are missing. Her life turns upside down, as she begins to receive disguised phone calls asking about the diamonds and a blue-eyed masked man attacks her in her boudoir. She then remembers that her jealous lover Michel owns contact lenses in that color, so she runs away with an older eye surgeon to the coast of England. But Michel isn't far behind...The first of three giallo directed by Navarro's husband, Luciano Ercoli, this is what the genre should be: shocking, lurid, bloody and oh so fashionable. It also makes a deft turn from what we expect from the form into an actual mystery film.There's a plot twist here that honestly shocked me, so I won't spoil it. While the other two films in the Ercoli giallo trilogy - Death Walks at Midnight and The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion - are much better, this is still a quality film worthy of your time. Some critics decry them as Ercoli making movies just to feature his wife, but if you had a quality woman like Navarro in your life, I bet you'd do the same.

Somewhat flighty exotic dancer Nicole (Nieves Navarro) finds herself pursued by a masked killer with unnaturally bright blue eyes. Much of this film's running time is devoted to a partially clad Nicole taking her work home with her, first with hot-headed boyfriend Michel Aumont (Simon Andreu), and then with saucy, middle-aged Dr. Robert Matthews (Frank Wolff), into whose arms she runs when she suspects Michel might be her black-clad pursuer. This latest, more mature admirer looks after her far better than Michel did.This giallo has much in common with other films of the genre – a sumptuous musical score (by Stelvio Cipriani), a lovely lady in jeopardy, and (far too) much softcore titillation which, to be honest, bungs up the plot and stifles much in the way of tension – at least in the first half. There are suspects galore – one handed Hallory (Luciano Rossi), the good doctor himself (who seems too good to be true) and silly old spurned Michel (who, if innocent, is right to feel unjustly jilted, despite his volatility). And shocks, too – main characters die when you least expect it. This causes a readjustment on behalf of the audience; when someone we have invested in from the beginning of the film, we are left with more peripheral characters who then take centre stage, and we have to reboot our interest in them. It's good to have these shocks and surprises, but it takes a special skill for the story to continue with the same amount of interest. After some shaky moments, 'Death Walks on High Heels' just about manages it.The locations, mostly set in the coast of England, are lovely. Such scenic backgrounds provide a heavy slate-grey canvas for the increasingly colourful goings-on. Things become so entangled as to threaten to topple into confusion, but a terrific twist and action-infused finale livens things up toward the end. Featuring some meticulously choreographed fight scenes and convincing gore, 'Death Walks on High Heels' is an enjoyable entry into the world of giallo.

Director Luciano Ercoli, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, and actors Susan Scott and Simon Andreu had greatly impressed me with their 1970 giallo offering, "Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion." Curious to see whether lightning could possibly strike twice for this same team, I took a look at 1971's "Death Walks on High Heels," and it turns out that this latter film is, remarkably, even better than the first. In this one, sexy redheaded stripper Nicole (appealingly played by Scott) gets into major-league trouble when a masked killer with a mechanical voice box starts to target her, whilst looking for some stolen diamonds. You may think that you know where this stylish thriller is headed (and Ercoli DOES direct with style to spare), but trust me, you're dead wrong. A shocking twist of plot around halfway through really does pull the rug out from the viewer's expectations here, sending us into very strange and uncharted waters indeed. Gastaldi has here provided us with yet another ingeniously plotted story that hangs together marvelously (unlike--for me, anyway--Ercoli and Scott's follow-up film, 1972's "Death Walks at Midnight"); composer Stelvio Cipriani has contributed a chic and catchy score; and some great-looking lensing of Paris, London and the English countryside provides some elegant backdrops for the film's very sinister doings. Add some touches of welcome humor (in the film's latter half), one genuinely nasty slice-and-dice sequence for the gorehounds, and some fairly brutal fisticuffs at the film's conclusion and you have one extremely satisfying giallo indeed. Good luck trying to figure out the killer's identity in this one! As icing on the cake, the DVD that I just watched comes to us courtesy of the fine folks at No Shame, who continue to impress with pristine prints of lost Italian wonders, and with excellent subtitling, to boot. Grazie, No Shame!

Luciano Ercoli's Death Walks on High Heels is a sexy and suspenseful thriller. The convoluted plot revolves around the whereabouts of some stolen jewels and the involvement of a strip tease girl.Susan Scott (aka Nieves Navarro) plays the stripper who is central to the story. And, quite frankly, she's a revelation. Oozing sex appeal and stealing every scene she appears in, Miss Scott was one of the queens of giallo cinema. She was highly impressive in Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion but she is given a more central role here. And she delivers one of the most erotic performances in the giallo sub-genre.Other than the obvious appeal of the delicious leading lady, Ercoli's movie works as a suspenseful thriller, with some genuinely unsettling scenes. Chief amongst them being the somewhat haunting appearance of the 'high heels' killer in the opticians, whose approach is seen through through frosted glass and, also of note is an extremely brutal murder scene in the latter half of the movie, the savagery of it is definitely shocking. This murder stands out all the more as this is not exactly a body-count movie. The violence is kept to a minimum but is strong when it rears it's head.Like in Forbidden Photos, Ercoli uses another actress who looks strikingly similar to Susan Scott, in this case Claudie Lange. Simón Andreu, another Ercoli regular, puts in another sleazy performance as the chief suspect. And there is a host of other shady characters prowling about. In fact there are so many red herrings that we even have a dodgy character selling fish! In order for early 70's gialli to sell themselves to an international market they were often expected to do two things. Firstly cast leading ladies who look more Anglo-Saxon than Italian (which the Spanish but strawberry haired Miss Scott fulfilled) and secondly to incorporate locations outwith Italy (this being achieved by the French and British settings).Death Walks on High Heels is one of the most erotically charged gialli I've seen. Recommended for fans of both Italian thrillers and, of course, Susan Scott.